Tuesday, March 1, 2011

I'm coming in a bit late, so this week I'm going back to week 2 and taking part in the launch pad since that is what I desperately need to organize.

What's a launch pad?

Well, it's the term used to describe the place in your home where you have everything all in one spot to help launch you on your day. It can also be a landing strip as it's usually by the door that's used the most and stuff gets piled on it. The idea is to keep it organized and make sense so family members don't have to hunt for anything or think about where something is.

BEFORE

I had this table behind the couch (picture is after moving it to the other wall). The baskets were full of diapers/wipes, baby blankets/bibs, and baby clothes. I had a newborn, so it made sense to keep those things close instead of running room to room every 5 minutes, but now I don't need them as readily available with him almost 3 months old. Time to change things around!

AFTER

Before the shoes were thrown about in a vinyl bin which collected lots of dirt.

Shoes and Out the Door Items!

The shoe rack, which I LOVE, is from Costco! The top holds my diaper bag (black backpack) so I can fill it as I need and have it ready, and the bin holds everything that is on the way out (my daughter's backpack for school, clothes to replenish the bins of extras in the van, items to return or bring to friends/family, ect.)

The Launch Station

The white basket is extra baby supplies.

The blue bins contain potato heads and puzzles (easy access to pull it out when things are getting crazy!).

The Mail Sorter

My categories are:

Incoming Mail

Outgoing Mail

Coupons

Bills

File

Notebooks (I'm going to keep my finance/to do notebooks here)

The STUFF Basket

I love this basket! Great find at a garage sale one street away from me!

This basket is for keys, wallets, phones, ect.

Lastly is the Library Bin.

We go to storytime at the library once a week and the kids know this is where all library things go before bed every night. I keep the cloth bag in there with the receipt that has the book and movie names, so I can easily grab everything, double check that we have everything, and throw it in as we're running out the door. This really cuts down on wasted time during the week finding books and gives the kids a place to keep these special items. They learn to respect the books more and distinguish between their books and the library's books. Plus it saves us money, which I always love, since we aren't late anymore...or worse...loosing items.

So there you have it. Our new Launch Pad.

It honestly does "Help us launch out the door".

We may need some prettier baskets, but at least it is functional.

The only thing left is finding something on the huge open wall to decorate.

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About Me

Hello World. My name is Jennielle and I am the proud wife of a hardworking techy type man and a Stay at Home Mom to 4 wonderful children. We are a homeschooling family and I feel very passionately about my family and education. I'm a very nostalgic person who also looks to the future with bright eyes.